


Honorary Grandfathers

by dahtwitchi



Series: Iruka the Unwilling Babysitter [4]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Caring, Emotions, Gen, Iruka being the grandfather we all know he should have been, Parenting Feels, Post-Episode 500 (Naruto), Self Confidence Issues, Sharing Emotions, Toddlers, pre Boruto anime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:00:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24017893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dahtwitchi/pseuds/dahtwitchi
Summary: Iruka had come to expect his ex students to come to him about their children and babysitting. He had not in the least expected Gai, or the afternoon that followed.
Series: Iruka the Unwilling Babysitter [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1312289
Comments: 14
Kudos: 74





	Honorary Grandfathers

**Author's Note:**

> ((...what is proofreading? I haven't seen it, neither have this fic. Be prepared.))

Iruka had, by this point, had his fair share of former students show up to see if he was willing to babysit their children. It had been odd, but through anything from fumbling embarrassed requests, to sensible arrangements, he had somehow ended up the go to choice for so many of them.

This, though. This was new. This was a whole other level of person to seek him out and trust a toddler with him. Umino Iruka, reliable and trustworthy, he can handle 6 year olds, so why not also toddlers? He was baffled by the way people seemed to see him these days.

“I don’t quite understand, Gai, are you asking me to… babysit?” he asked, hesitant, frowning at Gai’s uncharacteristic unease.

“Not… Not quite,” Gai answered, tender fingers smoothing Metal’s hair down where he sat in Gai’s lap.

Iruka waited.

Silence. Why was there always so much blasted silence whenever anyone came to ask for help with their children? As if they couldn’t guess he was going to say yes in a heart-beat, as evident by the four toddlers in the jungle gym behind him. He glanced back, leaving Gai to hopefully come up with a more substantial request while he made sure that, yes, four toddlers. The right toddlers, even. No fights, just giggling and no one with a handful of sand. 

Good.

“Well?” he asked, turning back. To his surprise, both Gai and Metal were looking at the toddlers, the child with intense curiosity and eagerness so like his father, and Gai- There was a complicated solemn stare Iruka couldn’t quite figure out, but felt as if the reason for it wasn’t too foreign.

“I meant to take Metal to the park today, his father-” Iruka couldn’t help but smile at the proud and reverent tone Gai used whenever describing Lee as a father, “-is on a mission, and I was given the honour of caring for him for the duration!” 

“Well, then, what are you waiting for? Join us!” Iruka clapped his hands, making his lot of kids turn their attention toward the grown-ups. “Hey, kids! Look who has come to play with us!” Iruka exclaimed, falling into professional habits as he introduced the children to each other. He knew they had all met before, but formality could be-

Iruka faltered.

Had the toddlers all met before? He tried to think of any instance it had happened, but realised he couldn’t come up with anything. Studying as Boruto, Sarada, Inojin and Chōchō flocked around the wheelchair, babbling half sense half nonsense at the two newcomers, he realised neither Metal, nor Gai seemed sure what to do. Gai, so out of character it unnerved Iruka, held Metal close, shielded him from the others, and his smile was reserved.

Clearing his throat, Iruka shooed the children back to the playground, “come on, come on, take Metal with you and show him the sights, and then we will have a snack break, ok!” he herded them all off, smiling encouragingly at Gai as he reluctantly let go of his ward.

“Come, let’s sit back and see them get familiar with each other, Gai.”

“Can we leave them alone-”

“We will be a couple of meters away, I rather think leaving them alone is an exaggeration,” he assured, gesturing to the bench to the side.

“Of course, sensei,” Gai nodded, wheeling along, his answering smile genuine, but lacking some of his usual bluster. 

Iruka sat down, close to the end of the bench, hoping it was the respectful thing to do what with the wheelchair. He kept his eyes on the children, looking out for any trouble as they swarmed around each other. His own little group eagerly pointed out every little interesting thing about the playground, grass, interesting spots on clothes, twigs, jungle gym, and passing birds. Metal seemed overwhelmed with his eyes open wide, but nodded along with everything. 

Hearing the wheelchair settle in beside him, Iruka kept finding his focus shift between Gai and the children. The man was leaning forward, chin in his fingers, his eyes on the scene as if he was judging a battlefield. The Green Beast of Konoha, worried about a few toddler in a playground-

Oh.

So that was it, was it?

“It’s quite a thing, having honorary grandchildren all of a sudden, when you never even had an actual baby on your own, isn’t it?” he said, keeping his gaze steadily on the children now, feeling odd putting himself and a famous elite shinobi on the same playing field. Putting them both in the same situation and offering himself up as experienced support, even. 

Silence, again. 

Worried he had put himself forward unduly, or been completely wrong projecting something of his own feelings, he looked over at Gai, who in turn was leaning closer than Iruka had realised and had an expression as close to yearning as he’d ever seen. 

"Ah, Gai?"

"Do you think so? Do you see me as Metal's grandfather?"

“I, well, me and Naruto’s kids, it’s a bit the same, isn’t it? Him and Lee, they didn’t really have any real father figures, did they.” 

Feeling his cheeks heat up, Iruka made an aborted gesture to rub it away, turning back to study the children. Absently, he noted they were digging and putting twigs into hills, but mostly, he was occupied by the struggle of emotional conversations. Having his ex students talking about matters of the heart was easier than this, he realised. This was a grown up man, older than himself, in another league, looking at Iruka as if he’d be able to shine light over their way into building family. 

“So,” Iruka hurried to continue, stressed into chatter by Gai’s unwavering stare, “people like us, while we mostly were just teachers at first, we also were among the first to see them, to bother, care about them in any capacity, you know? Sooner or later they knew we wanted them to succeed in life, and that they could always turn to us to cheer them on? And now they entrust us with their children. It’s so big, I never had children of my own, and it was a long time since I even had a family. It was scary first, but I realised they did trust me with their child, that they wanted me to be there for them and their family. Why else would they again and again seek _me_ out for help and support. For me it’s easier, I guess, Naruto wanting me to stand in as father at his wedding and all,” he smiled, getting distracted by the warmth of the memory. It wasn’t often he expressed how much it meant to him, and it felt good.

“With you and Lee, though, anyone could see the bond. And today, you came here, with Metal, and-” warming to the subject of sharing a love for the kids they connected to and their children who now tried to throw twigs at poles, Iruka turned to Gai with a wide smile.

A wide smile that dropped in the face of the tears on Gai’s face.

“I- Gai- I’m sorry if I-”

“Iruka-sensei!” Gai grabbed Iruka’s hands, displaying the earnest smile possible through the tears. 

“Iruka-sensei, I am So Grateful! For you to share with me such Beautiful Emotions, such sincere recollections of your doubts! A brand of Bravery rarely found among us.”

Stunned, Iruka tried to blink away the vivid vision of a practically sparkling Gai. The embarrassment of rambling on about his own feelings warred with the fact that here was a man who might actually appreciate it, although he would most probably make it embarrassing in the complete opposite direction.

"Iruka-sensei, in all honesty, I came here knowing you were here. I had heard you were to keep your Young Entourage entertained in the park today, that your Splendid Ways would be on display for any who cared to study your Unmatched Abilities! I went here with Metal for the sole purpose I hoped to have your _wonderful connection_ to children Inspire me from afar, to be Overblown by your Youthful Disposition, and see if it could lead me right in my own relation to Metal-, or, as you said, to my-, to my Honorary Grandson, I-" Gai had to pause, tears making their way down his cheeks, staring at Iruka with his fists clenched in passion. 

The fire Iruka always had seen in the man before today was again turned up to full force despite the fiercely low tone, and he couldn't look away. Completely enthralled by whatever personalised intense energetic spirit which made people drawn into Gai’s personal orbit (or away, Iruka dimly acknowledged, this intensity, for sure, challenged his ability to stay and continue the- the conversation) Iruka’s jaw slacked with the realisation all these floral descriptions were about him. About Iruka, and Iruka's way with children and people. 

"I have been _in doubt_ , sensei, in doubt and pain, and I am not ashamed of what I have become after the war. But! I have not been confident in this! To hear your words, to hear you so plainly tell you see me as an Honorary Grandfather, to give me the Fatherly epithet to Lee whom I have Loved And Cared for so long! Who has been as close to me as the children I wished I had had, had I had the chance. Truly, this is the Highest form of Praise! You, who so young took it upon you to Build a Bond with Naruto, despite the fact the whole village might shun anyone willing to care for the poor child. Iruka-sensei, I am in Awe, how you stood up against the village, Defied the Sandaime’s decree, for Naruto’s sake because of your Astonishing Capacity for Love! You who challenged Kakashi to protect him from the Chuunin exams! Iruka, there is no Higher Honour, than having _You_ consider _Me_ a Father and Grandfather, if not formally, but in Spirit, which is the most important thing for anything Precious to the Heart!"

Iruka could hardly breathe, only blink in dazed silence. Part of him wanted to protest, to refuse the praise, although part of him wanted to preen. The sudden thought of Naruto as he was these days, the depression and apathy, put a damper on the embarrassed elation he felt about being seen as Naruto's loving parental figure. 

A piercing scream from the playground had Iruka startle, kicking him into action, wholeheartedly throwing himself into the distraction of guilt over how absorbed he had been by Gai’s speech. 

"Ah, Im- flattered, thank you, I'll just, the children-" he stumbled over his words as he went to investigate the source of dissent that had risen in the group. Gai was right there beside him as he bent down to handle a scraped knee, tears, and many opinions and much blaming unto others. Assuring everyone, Gai included, that the scrapes were mild, and that the plasters would make everything fine, he herded them all to the benches for fruit and drinks. He was on autopilot, though, his mind straying back to big words and Gai's admiration. 

When the children had settled down, engrossed in their food, Gai again turned to Iruka. Unsure of whether the man would break out in ornate praise again, he steeled himself for what would be quite over the top, especially as he again had fallen into doubt as to his lack of usefulness to Naruto these days.

“I shall be as Honest and Truthful with you, Iruka-sensei, as the trust you have shown me in sharing your Innermost Feelings about the children in our care,” Gai insisted in a sincere voice that surprisingly didn’t cut over the hubbub of the toddlers enthusiastically enjoying their fruit and the new addition to their group. Iruka could only nod, mystified as to what would be said next.

“You see, Iruka-sensei, while I do Cherish and Love my very own Father beyond what words can express, I am also not blind to our… Otherness, and the loneliness we both too often experienced. I struggled hard as a child, and I have seen Lee have the same struggle, to be accepted,” Gai murmured, seeming pained to admit such knowledge. 

“And now, now I have Metal, and I see Lee so very intent on giving him the Joy and Youthful Spirit that both he and I treasure so. But…”

Iruka held his breath with anticipation of wherever Gai was going with this. There was his usual panic of having someone reveal their hidden away thoughts to him, but his mind was too baffled about _Gai_ doing it, to do anything but await the continuation. Oh, and keeping an habitual eye on the toddlers. 

Clearing his throat, Gai continued with a bittersweet smile, “But I look at Metal, who is still so young and has not experienced being rejected, and at Lee, who wish the world for his son, and I find I do not wish for the child to ever have to go through the exclusion we have experienced. I do fear, though, Iruka-sensei, that I am not the right person to give him that balance, nor that I managed to give Lee the ability to do so either. I live in fear of simply coming from our way of life, Metal will be at a disadvantage, and I am not used to this feeling. The responsibility for such a young child, to give him what we ourselves never had, it is one fear I do not know how my father overcame,” Gai sighed, turning to Iruka once again, eyes lost in helplessness over the immense task of rearing a child.

Iruka’s heart surged in sympathy for that helplessness, for the worries of not being enough or having the tools to help children to a good life. He wondered if Lee struggled as much as the other children, no, parents, who had come to Iruka. For the first time, though, someone had come to spill their hearts out at him who was in an equal situation, one of his own generation, and had so much more in common with himself than he had imagined. 

“Gai,” he said in a soft voice, gesturing toward the children who were satisfied and now mashing about with the leftover fruit, “look at them. Does he seem like an outcast to you?”

For a moment, Gai didn’t look away from Iruka, so obviously raw from voicing such personal thoughts. Looked at Iruka as if he had finally seen harbour in a stormy sea, before he turned to see the children giggling over the faces they all made in their own faces with the leftover fruit.

The awe as he seemed to finally register there was a group of children where they all were just the same, just finishing up a meal and no one was left out, no one telling them one child was to be avoided. No one telling the one child they were less than the others. Iruka felt himself infected by Gai’s vocabulary, and vaguely thought of sunrises, of sunlit dew in the fresh morning air, of birds waking in the spring, of cherishing the youth and all it’s potential.

“...but, oh no, we have Failed in our Duties, Iruka-sensei, they are all dirty, how could we abandon them to their-”

“They are toddlers, Gai,” Iruka couldn’t help laughing at the very odd sight of _Gai_ stressing over messy toddlers. “It’s fine, toddlers are very washable.”

“...washable?” The astonishment made Iruka smirk and nod.

“Why yes, and they dry very fast in the sun, too! Come on children,” he clapped his hands for attention, five sticky faces turning toward the grown ups, ”who wants to make the biggest splash in the fountain!”

Iruka felt his mood lift as he gathered the kids up to undress them by the fountain, snickering at Gai being such a mother hen. He did understand the urge, could see how desperate Gai was to make it right, the fear of any missteps with this precious child and the great gravity of doing well in his responsibilities given to him by Lee. 

As the children settled down to dry off, after much splashing and Gai slowly getting his spirit into the insane rush of trying to haul five slippery children out of water, Iruka felt a calm settle over himself that he didn’t quite know where it came from. Maybe it was the sight of sleepy children. Maybe it was another child successfully jonging the group and having had fun. It might have been having another grown up along for the outing. Or, it was because he felt much more anchored into the world, knowing there was someone else more like him out there, who he had shared fears with but did not have to feel like the sole responsible person for their wellbeing.

Settling down beside Gai, who rested in the grass with the kids, he patted the man’s shoulder. 

“You’ll do fine. We aren’t alone in this, you know. You and Metal are welcome anytime. Also, apart from us both having their happiness in sight, they have great people as parents, people we can be proud of and who all respect each other. None of these children will have parents who shun the others, or talk ill about or forbid to see the other children out of fear or hatred or despise,” Iruka said, making himself comfortable and turning to look at the few clouds in the sky. 

“And if they do,” he said, turning a grin at Gai who seemed as satisfied and sleepy as the toddlers, “then we will give them such a talking to about how to treat others, and how they were raised to be better than that!”

Gai’s chuckle and murmured “That’s the Spirit I expect from Iruka-sensei!” was the last noise in the warm afternoon for quite a while, as Iruka kept watch over five sleeping children and one Honorary Grandfather.

Life could be worse, he thought, holding this unexpected perfect moment close to his heart to remember when he would have to once again deal with the bad parts of life. 

Right now, though?

Now was good.

**Author's Note:**

> I just keep stubbornly thinking Iruka should be the go to for the pack of kids the Boruto generation should have become from the start, ok?
> 
> ....and that he has a far less grip on his inner life than people think ;3


End file.
